E it enacted by the queens most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and. Dec, 2015 the motivation behind the bill is the wave of new psychoactive substances or legal highs. From around 200809, the uk has seen the emergence of new uncontrolled substances that are intended to mimic the effects of controlled drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, mdma these are ecstasy and heroin. The psychoactive substances bill 2015 house of commons. Full text of the act of parliament as passed by parliament this is the act in its original state. Theresa mays futile war on psychoactive drugs the guardian. Bill documents psychoactive substances act 2016 uk parliament. Apr 24, 2018 psychoactive substances act 2016 overview. The regulation of new psychoactive substances nps has confounded. Parliamentary briefing psychoactive substance bill 2nd. May 29, 2015 the psychoactive substances act received royal assent on 28 january 2016. Possession of psychoactive substance with intent to supply. Joint submission to the home affairs ommittees short. The lga welcomes the move by the government to ban the production, distribution, sale and supply of psychoactive substances in the uk with the psychoactive substances bill.
Changes in use of novel psychoactive substances among adolescents attending a drug and alcohol treatment service following a legislative ban. We have examined the psychoactive substances bill 167684. Psychoactive substances regulation ministry of health nz. The psychoactive substances bill is an opportunity to extend this protection to other controlled drugs. Following agreement by both houses on the text of the bill it received royal assent on 28 january. Oct 15, 2015 the psychoactive substances bill 2015, was announced in the queens speech on 27 may 2015. On may 28, 2015, the psychoactive substances bill was introduced in the uk house of lords. A simple ish guie to the psychoactive substances act. Psychoactive substances bill hl 5 b the substance is a psychoactive substance, c the person knows or suspects, or ought to know or suspect, that the substance is a psychoactive substance, and d the person i intends to consume the psychoactive substance for its psychoactive effects, or. The bill was given royal assent on 28 january 2016, and came into force on 26 may 2016 across the entire united kingdom. The psychoactive substances regulatory authority administers the act.
Get in on the act psychoactive substances act 2016 local. The psychoactive substances act 2016 is a law in the united kingdom intended to restrict the production, sale and supply of a new class of psychoactive substances often referred to as legal highs. General scheme of department of justice and equality. Parliamentary briefing psychoactive substance bill 2nd reading house of lords 09 june 2015 this is a joint briefing paper from release and transform drug policy foundation in respect of the governments proposed legislation, the psychoactive substances ill. The pharmacology of psychoactive substance use disorders 9 the basics of addiction counseling desk reference a brain disease characterized by an individuals inability to control hisher thoughts of and intake of psychoactive substances. The rapid emergence since the mid2000s of a large and diverse range of substances originally designed as legal alternatives to more established illicit drugs pragmatically clustered and termed new psychoactive substances. Chapter 1 introduction and background referral of the bill s provisions 1. These explanatory notes relate to the psychoactive substances act 2016 c. Supplying, or offering to supply, a psychoactive substance. Psychoactive substances bill local government association. Jan 28, 2016 all bill documents latest news on the psychoactive substances act 2016. Misuse of drugs amendment psychoactive substances bill 2015 s. The government introduced the psychoactive substances bill psb in response to that recommendation. Hl bill 2 561 psychoactive substances bill hl 1 a bill to make provision about psychoactive substances.
Drugs, alcohol and psychoactive substances policy this is a policy of the princes trust and applies to all trust staff, volunteers and seconded staff. Psychoactive substances the crown prosecution service. A background to the bill, a summa ry of lords consideration. This briefing paper will provide some background to new psychoactive substances, their use, and the current legislative framework. Letter from karen bradley to the acmd, 22 march 2016. Psychoactive substances bill consistency with the new zealand bill of rights act 1990 20 february 20 1. No, 20 a bill for drugs and poisons legislation amendment new psychoactive and other substances bill 20 new south wales an act to amend the drug misuse and trafficking act 1985 to prohibit the manufacture, supply, sale and advertising of psychoactive substances and to remove the requirement for analogues of. Delivery partners will have their own policies in place. It is the responsibility of the trust to check that these. This can lead to intoxication, which is often the main reason people choose to take psychoactive drugs. Get in on the act psychoactive substances act 2016. The psychoactive substances act psa comes into force on 26th may 2016. With the recent introduction of the psychoactive substances bill, 12 steps are being taken to prohibit the production, distribution, and sale of nps. The bill was debated in committee on 27 and 29 october 2015, there were three sittings.
Release is the uks centre of expertise on drugs and drug laws uk. Jun 08, 2015 the main part of the bill deals with the powers of the police to investigate and prosecute people involved in the supply and use of legal highs and related psychoactive substances. E it enacted by the queens most excellent majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present. Can new psychoactive substances be regulated effectively. Is capable of producing a psychoactive effect on a person who consumes it and is not an exempted substance for the purposes of this act a substance produces a psychoactive effect in a person if, by stimulating or depressing the persons central nervous system.
The psychoactive substances bill 2015 house of commons library. Hl bill 53 561 psychoactive substances bill hl 1 a bill as amended in committee to make provision about psychoactive substances. The psychoactive substances act received royal assent on 28 january 2016. Joint submission to the home affairs ommittees short inquiry. The aim of the act is to protect the health of, and minimise harm to, individuals who use psychoactive substances. Legal highs and novel psychoactive substances resource update the psychoactive substances bill alcohol and drug prevention briefing paper 6 this briefing paper is part of a series produced by mentor adepis on alcohol and drug education and prevention, for teachers and practitioners. A semiotic analysis of the psychoactive substances act 2016. Over 560 substances are currently monitored by the european monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction. These documents are part of the psychoactive substances bill. Schedule 1 4 of the bill creates new offences of manufacturing, supplying, or possessing schedule 9 substances. An assessment of the british psychoactive substances bill. It develops after psychoactive substances are repetitively consumed and the brain readjusts to. Much is still unknown about the scale and associated harms of nps use in scotland.
The law seeks to make manufacturers test and prove their products are lowrisk before they can be sold. A sime ish guie to the psychoactive substances act psa. Put simply any substance is illegal to produce or supply if it is likely to be used to get high. Joint submission to the home affairs ommittees short inquiry into the psychoactive substances bill release is the uks centre of expertise on drugs and drug laws, providing free and confidential legal and drug services to people who use drugs andor those caught up in the criminal justice system. Legal highs, or new psychoactive substances nps, are untested and unpredictable and, in the worst cases, can cause death. For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription. Factsheet new psychoactive substances in recent years, the market for amphetaminetype stimulants ats has been characterized by the appearance of several new substances, which often have chemical andor pharmacological properties similar to internationally controlled substances. The motivation behind the bill is the wave of new psychoactive substances or legal highs. As well as the more recent use of legal highs, other drugs which are already controlled have been used as part of the grooming and exploitation process of children. Ultimately the panel recommended that the government ban all new psychoactive drugs and allow only psychoactive substances specifically exempted, such as alcohol, tobacco and those allowed as medicines. Release does not support this bill but has proposed amendments to lessen the disproportionate impact.
The provisions of the psychoactivesubstances bill will build on and complement the existing legislative framework for the control of dangerous drugs as contained in the misuse of drugs act 1971 the 1971 act. Jan 15, 2016 the psychoactive substances bill 201516 was introduced in the house of commons on 21 july 2015. In this article, ndarcs dr rachel sutherland provides an indepth overview of nps in australia that covers what they are, who uses them and which specific nps are. Version of the bill showing changes made in committee pdf, 523kb, 30.
This reflects existing provision related to the supply of other controlled drugs in the misuse of drugs act 1971. The impact of the psychoactive substances act 2016 on the online availability of mdmbchmica. Nps has challenged traditional approaches to drug monitoring, surveillance, control, and public health responses. Bill documents psychoactive substances act 2016 act of parliament. Misuse of drugs amendment psychoactive substances bill. Psychoactive, also called psychotropic, is a term that is applied to chemical substances that change a persons mental state by affecting the way the brain and nervous system work.
Psychoactive substances bill the childrens society. A simple ish guide to the psychoactive substances act psa. Grey market labs have rifled the scientific literature to create substances that produce similar effects. The act may have been amended by another act and any such amendments are not shown in this version. To date, approximately 900 new psychoactive substances nps have been identified by the united nations office on drugs and crime. Interventions targeting new psychoactive substances 9. Psychoactive substances bill 2015 psychoactive substance means any substance which. Public sale of these substances is banned, following the introduction of the psychoactive. New psychoactive substances nps are a worldwide problem, with.
New psychoactive substances nps, also known as legal highs, have risen to prominence in recent years, and stakeholders across scotland have raised concerns about the impact of these substances on individuals, services and local communities. We have concluded that whilst the bill raises some issues under the bill of rights act, it is not inconsistent. Bill documents psychoactive substances act 2016 uk. Clauses 4 to 8 of the bill achieves this by making it an offence to produce, supply, offer to supply, possess with intent to supply, import or export a psychoactive substance for human consumption. All bill documents latest news on the psychoactive substances act 2016. Get in on the act psychoactive substances act 2016 background the psychoactive substances act the act was introduced in the house of lords on 28 may 2015, following an announcement made in the queens speech to bring forward legislation to ban the new generation of psychoactive drugs 1. Defining new or novel psychoactive substances nps overall there were high levels of agreement that the legal definition of psychoactive substances set out in the psychoactive substances act should be adopted by a wide range of stakeholders. Over 560 substances are currently monitored by the european monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction, with 100. Ostensibly meant to curtail socalled legal highs newlysynthesized chemical intoxicants that are not covered by current drug laws the bill would impose a blanket ban on any substance that affects the persons mental functioning or emotional state. Legal highs and novel psychoactive substances resource. International journal of drug policy, 26 7, 887889. Psychoactive substances are regulated in new zealand by the psychoactive substances act 20. Bill 88 561 psychoactive substances bill hl 1 a bill as amended in public bill committee to make provision about psychoactive substances. There were a number of concerns raised about the specific.
This has now passed its house of lords stages and will have its second reading in the house of commons on 19 october 2015. I now turn to explain the detail of the drugs and poisons legislation amendment new psychoactive and other substances bill 20. The psychoactive substances act 20 is a law in new zealand which prohibits the sale of any psychoactive substance unless licensed after human trials. The act applies across the uk and will come into force on 26 may 2016. The provisions of the psychoactive substances bill will build on and complement. The psychoactive substances bill 201516 was introduced in the house of commons on 21 july 2015. Psychoactive substances bill proposed amendments release. The purpose of the bill is to introduce a blanket ban on new psychoactive substances.
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